Tiffany’s Takes: WWE NXT (6/26/19)

It’s go time for Io Shirai and Shayna Baszler! Who will win their historic encounter as the WWE NXT Women’s Championship is decided inside a steel cage for the first time ever?

Tiffany takes a strong look at a history making edition of WWE NXT in this edition of Tiffany’s Takes!

NXT Championship: Well, we still haven’t solved the mystery of Gargano’s whereabouts, but it looks like Cole, who is acting exactly how you think an obnoxious heel would act, might show us next week.  Is it wrong to hope that WWE paid Gargano’s an insane amount of money so they can film a fight there a la Austin vs Booker T in the grocery store?

NXT Women’s Division: WOW! Baszler and Shirai definitely had a tall hill to climb with having the first Steel Cage match for the NXT Women’s Championship and they climbed it and planted their flag in bedrock! What a match! I am disappointed that Baszler won, but I’m hoping this is leading to Mia Yim getting her shot. However, the bigger story was Io Shirai snapping on Candice LeRae, who had been helping her in her war against Baszler and her cronies. I’m really interested to see where this is going to go next week.

As much as I love Aliyah and Vanessa Borne, I don’t love this storyline with Mia Yim. It’s…tacky, for lack of a better term. I know this is going to be about building up Yim and showing her as a role model, but I wish it wasn’t being done in such a bad way. Seriously, guys, you can do better than this.

NXT Tag Team Division: Okay, the Forgotten Sons look like bad biker gang cosplay, but they are all very talented wrestlers and that showed in that tag title match with Street Profits. This match of the ‘Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover’ gimmicks would’ve been match of the night if the historic Women’s Title Match wasn’t on the card. I’m also intrigued by the growing situation between the Bald Brawlers and Street Profits, who definitely owe Lorcan and Burch after that save

NXT Breakout Tournament – Angel Garza vs Joaquin Wilde: Obviously, I’ve never heard or seen either of these guys before, but Wilde looks like an Ali cosplayer. The match itself was AMAZING! Why neither of these guys has been on NXT before is a total mystery to me, especially since Garza seems like a pretty good heel.  That’s definitely a great opener for this tournament and it sets a high bar for what’s coming.

Keith Lee vs Nykos Rikos: I’m not a Keith Lee fan, I just don’t get the hype, but I really liked this match because 1. I liked his opponent’s name. and 2. I love it when people channel Ancient Greece. The match was okay, just a basic squash match, but it was the details I enjoyed.

Overall Thoughts: That was a really good episode of NXT. We’re finally moving away from the TakeOver lull and getting back to business. I can’t wait to see what WWE’s going to do with Cole vs Gargano, even if it’s a fight in a sub shop. I also loved that we might get to see an NXT/NXT UK crossover. The first match of the Breakout Tournament is MUST SEE!

I’m really intrigued by Strong vs Breeze. Shirai vs Baszler was FANTASTIC but Shirai vs Candice LeRae promises to be a barn burner. That’s it for Tiffany’s NXT Takes! Tune in Monday for my RAW Takes!